JulesLee
Active member
My dad and grandmother spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out why a particular website wouldn't load. It turned out it was an email address. -SmokeSignalSky from UGA
I was working for Verizon as a DSL install tech. This woman ordered a wireless router for her DSL connection. When I showed up to install it she got angry and yelled, "It's not wireless! See? You still have to plug it in!" and pointed to the power outlet and the cable box.- Scott H.
When my dad is trying to email something out I have to describe the @ symbol as "uppercase 2." -Art from Kettering
My mom wanted some help checking her email. I asked what the address was, and she said it was with her first-and-last-name@ hotmail.com. So I tried and tried to access it but couldn’t figure it out. Finally, in frustration, I asked if she had even set it up. She responded “No, I just figured everyone else has one like that so I probably had one in there too.”
-Jonathan Danson
My mom once sent me an email complaining that, "The Internet wasn't working."
-Bryan E.
My dad was going to Europe recently. He called to ask not only if his laptop would work over there, but also if the pictures he took would be compatible with his U.S. computer.
-Brian S.
I got my dad an iPod for Christmas. After taking it out of the package several weeks later, he called me and asked how to activate it, and how much it is a month for service.
-Will B.
I set up a Yahoo! e-mail account with my mom. She tried to access it by going to yahoo, typing her e-mail address in the search field and hitting enter.
- Mark B.
My mom opened up Microsoft Word and typed "the internet" on the document and hit enter, fully expecting it to connect her to the Internet.
-Mark B. again, whose mom is apparently really stupid
We set my grandmother up with the Internet so that she could e-mail out of town relatives. She called my dad in a panic one day and said she didn’t know what to do, the cops were probably on the way. He said, "Mom, what did you do?" She said, "I was on the online and a screen popped up that said I performed and illegal operation."
-Brian S.
My mom once called me up and asked me how to turn off the screensaver.
-Bridget from Fordham.
Every time my mom sends me a text message, she calls me immediately afterward asking, "Did you get my text message?"
-James from Creighton
My father-in-law asked me where the lower-case keys are.
-Brian H.
I tried to teach my grandmother basic computer skills, but I wasn't able to get anywhere with her because she kept rotating the mouse on the mouse-pad. She thought you had to steer it like a car when you wanted the pointer to go someplace.
-Kurtis from University of Missouri-Columbia
My grandfather literally used the screen as a mousepad because he thought the cursor was controlled by the mouse being on the screen. -Chad G.
My grandmother got a digital camera for her birthday, and took it with her on a trip the next week. Since the camera's setting was on video from day one, she took 5-second video clips the whole trip and no pictures. When the memory was full, she put the camera back in the box and left it in the closet for a year because she didn't know how to take the footage off.
-Ty from Willamette
Instead of shutting off the computer, my grandma just pulls the plug.
-Liz from Schaumburgn
My mom once claimed that we had an outlet for wireless in our house, apparently not realizing that makes no sense.
-J from UPenn
One day I showed my mom our house in Google Earth. She got up from her seat, walked into the middle of our front yard, started looking up at the sky, and started yelling, "can you see me from space?"
- Blake R from Southern Maryland
My mother sent me to help her friend because she was having trouble installing new software. When I got there I saw that her fifteen-year-old computer had a five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy drive on it. She had jammed the CD into it.
-Andrew
My grandmother once yelled at me, saying that if I type too fast I will break her computer.
-Tyler from Lakeville
My dad asked me how to send a text message from the house phone. He had been trying all day.
-Eli
We recently set up an email address for my grandmother. She was hoping I would email her, so when we spoke on the phone she explained, "My email is willsgranny@yahoo.com and my password is roses."
-Will from Fordham
My dad asked me if cell phones could call land lines. He thought you could only call other cell phones, "like wake-talkies."
-Jessica from Des Moines
My grandpa saw a "Wifi coming soon" ad on a McDonalds placemat and said, "Looks like McDonalds is adding some Asian food to their menu."
- Colin from Kent State
When I was seven years old, my mother was trying to set up our new computer. The set up program kept telling her to push the start button. She sat their for an hour pushing the screen.
-Joe
And a very special children just don't understand:
My four-year-old son has one of our older computers in his room to play educational games. Since it's old, it freezes up a lot. When I explained the problem, he told me to just heat it up so it's not so cold.
-Jennifer
When I got a new cell phone, I called my mom to tell her. I mentioned it was a camera phone and she said "Really? Can you see me right now?"
-Deidre R.
Before my mom and I got in the car to drive to Toronto, she reassured me that her friend had emailed directions and we were ready to go. When we were on the road, she told me she needed to use my laptop because the directions were in my email. I asked how she intended to view her email in the middle of the highway and she responded, "I thought your laptop had the Internet on it."
-Jessica from Des Moines
I received the following email from my mother:
"Aunt Carolyn has sent me two e-mails with those adoable kities from one of thsoe intersenet groups that you showed me last summer. Can you sned her the link to the group with the kitties with bad gramamr and spelling almsot as bad as mine?"
- Katie
A few years ago my mom tried to call my brother and reached his voice mail. She left a 2-minute message calling out for him to pick up the phone, as if it was being played through his speaker phone.
-Shawn from Temple
I was working for Verizon as a DSL install tech. This woman ordered a wireless router for her DSL connection. When I showed up to install it she got angry and yelled, "It's not wireless! See? You still have to plug it in!" and pointed to the power outlet and the cable box.- Scott H.
When my dad is trying to email something out I have to describe the @ symbol as "uppercase 2." -Art from Kettering
My mom wanted some help checking her email. I asked what the address was, and she said it was with her first-and-last-name@ hotmail.com. So I tried and tried to access it but couldn’t figure it out. Finally, in frustration, I asked if she had even set it up. She responded “No, I just figured everyone else has one like that so I probably had one in there too.”
-Jonathan Danson
My mom once sent me an email complaining that, "The Internet wasn't working."
-Bryan E.
My dad was going to Europe recently. He called to ask not only if his laptop would work over there, but also if the pictures he took would be compatible with his U.S. computer.
-Brian S.
I got my dad an iPod for Christmas. After taking it out of the package several weeks later, he called me and asked how to activate it, and how much it is a month for service.
-Will B.
I set up a Yahoo! e-mail account with my mom. She tried to access it by going to yahoo, typing her e-mail address in the search field and hitting enter.
- Mark B.
My mom opened up Microsoft Word and typed "the internet" on the document and hit enter, fully expecting it to connect her to the Internet.
-Mark B. again, whose mom is apparently really stupid
We set my grandmother up with the Internet so that she could e-mail out of town relatives. She called my dad in a panic one day and said she didn’t know what to do, the cops were probably on the way. He said, "Mom, what did you do?" She said, "I was on the online and a screen popped up that said I performed and illegal operation."
-Brian S.
My mom once called me up and asked me how to turn off the screensaver.
-Bridget from Fordham.
Every time my mom sends me a text message, she calls me immediately afterward asking, "Did you get my text message?"
-James from Creighton
My father-in-law asked me where the lower-case keys are.
-Brian H.
I tried to teach my grandmother basic computer skills, but I wasn't able to get anywhere with her because she kept rotating the mouse on the mouse-pad. She thought you had to steer it like a car when you wanted the pointer to go someplace.
-Kurtis from University of Missouri-Columbia
My grandfather literally used the screen as a mousepad because he thought the cursor was controlled by the mouse being on the screen. -Chad G.
My grandmother got a digital camera for her birthday, and took it with her on a trip the next week. Since the camera's setting was on video from day one, she took 5-second video clips the whole trip and no pictures. When the memory was full, she put the camera back in the box and left it in the closet for a year because she didn't know how to take the footage off.
-Ty from Willamette
Instead of shutting off the computer, my grandma just pulls the plug.
-Liz from Schaumburgn
My mom once claimed that we had an outlet for wireless in our house, apparently not realizing that makes no sense.
-J from UPenn
One day I showed my mom our house in Google Earth. She got up from her seat, walked into the middle of our front yard, started looking up at the sky, and started yelling, "can you see me from space?"
- Blake R from Southern Maryland
My mother sent me to help her friend because she was having trouble installing new software. When I got there I saw that her fifteen-year-old computer had a five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy drive on it. She had jammed the CD into it.
-Andrew
My grandmother once yelled at me, saying that if I type too fast I will break her computer.
-Tyler from Lakeville
My dad asked me how to send a text message from the house phone. He had been trying all day.
-Eli
We recently set up an email address for my grandmother. She was hoping I would email her, so when we spoke on the phone she explained, "My email is willsgranny@yahoo.com and my password is roses."
-Will from Fordham
My dad asked me if cell phones could call land lines. He thought you could only call other cell phones, "like wake-talkies."
-Jessica from Des Moines
My grandpa saw a "Wifi coming soon" ad on a McDonalds placemat and said, "Looks like McDonalds is adding some Asian food to their menu."
- Colin from Kent State
When I was seven years old, my mother was trying to set up our new computer. The set up program kept telling her to push the start button. She sat their for an hour pushing the screen.
-Joe
And a very special children just don't understand:
My four-year-old son has one of our older computers in his room to play educational games. Since it's old, it freezes up a lot. When I explained the problem, he told me to just heat it up so it's not so cold.
-Jennifer
When I got a new cell phone, I called my mom to tell her. I mentioned it was a camera phone and she said "Really? Can you see me right now?"
-Deidre R.
Before my mom and I got in the car to drive to Toronto, she reassured me that her friend had emailed directions and we were ready to go. When we were on the road, she told me she needed to use my laptop because the directions were in my email. I asked how she intended to view her email in the middle of the highway and she responded, "I thought your laptop had the Internet on it."
-Jessica from Des Moines
I received the following email from my mother:
"Aunt Carolyn has sent me two e-mails with those adoable kities from one of thsoe intersenet groups that you showed me last summer. Can you sned her the link to the group with the kitties with bad gramamr and spelling almsot as bad as mine?"
- Katie
A few years ago my mom tried to call my brother and reached his voice mail. She left a 2-minute message calling out for him to pick up the phone, as if it was being played through his speaker phone.
-Shawn from Temple
